Falling Sun
by gabbigeo
Summary: Post-Breaking Dawn. What will Bella do when the Volturi start assembling their own talent and seek out the most vulnerable person in her life? Adds an extra element of supernatural beings. Rated M, just in case the characters get a little spunky.
1. Preface

Falling Sun 

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family."

-Anthony Brandt

**Preface**

I have faced death in many ways. I have even feared for the death of my loved ones. Every time I have escaped, or fought to protect those I love. So to be trapped, without a chance of protecting the most vulnerable person in my life, I know I would (quite literally and even gladly) stare death in the face a thousand times if it would offer any protection. I have never, in my new life, felt such helplessness. When I felt my strength for the first time, I reveled in my new invincibility. When I discovered the speed I was capable of, I was amazed by the thrill. And when I learned to project my shield I thought I would never again have to sit by uselessly to watch my loved ones suffer. I never imagined that all of these things would one day be rendered useless.


	2. Rematches

**Chapter One: Rematches**

It has been almost a year since the Volturi left us, however temporarily, in peace. Many things had changed and yet some things would always remain the same. I still could not get my fill of my husband during the nights. Nor could I ever tire of watching my beautiful Renesmee, learning and growing so fast. Even asleep she was fascinating to watch, and it would be so even could I not see her dreams.

Already more intelligent than most adults, Renesmee effortlessly merges our family and the packs in a way that would never otherwise be possible. The only member of the pack yet to warm to her was Leah. She was hesitate to allow herself any more reason to become loyal to our family, and since to know Renesmee is to love her Leah stayed as far away as she could. Which wasn't as far as she might have liked because Seth struck up a fast friendship with Renesmee. They considered themselves siblings already even though Alice hadn't seen a proposal from Charlie yet.

Charlie still liked to be kept in the dark about most things mythical but it was becoming harder and harder for him to ignore Nessie's quick advancement. She was very skilled at easing Charlie's anxiety and revealing only the minimum. Tensions between Charlie and Billy evaporated after the confrontation with the Volturi. Billy, I believed, did not want to waste what little time he had in his life by being indignant towards his closest friend. Especially when he knew he should want to be happy for him.

Charlie had just left with Sue (Seth in tow) for dinner at Billy's when Emment walked into the living room announcing that it was time for a "fair" arm wrestling rematch. Everyone turned their attention towards us. As I rose from the couch I pushed my sheild away and asked Edward, _what do you think? _I got an ear-to-ear grin as a response. I was approaching the year mark so I knew my strength was returning to normal, or vampire normal anyway. Emmett seemed confident that he had surpassed my strength and despite Edward's apparent confidence I still felt a little nervous. If I were human my palms would be dewing with sweat. However, this body would never betray me that way so, flashing a smile at Emmett, I crossed the room and flew out to the backyard with Emmett right behind. Alice, holding Renesmee's hand followed at a more leisurely pace with Edward on their heels.

Knocking down a massive tree, Emmett perched on his knees, throwing his elbow down on the trunk and his hand in the air. Grinning, he asked me, "You ready for this my tame little sister?"

Narrowing my eyes I took my place across from him and gripped his hand. "On the count of three..." Renesmee announced. "One... Two..." I began to feel Emmett start pushing, "Three!" Grinning at me I could feel Emmett building up to his full force and it still amazed me sometimes, this new strength. Emmett seemed to take my hesitation for confidence but really I could sit here, maybe forever, and never get tired. So, an idea came to me. Emmett pushed my arm, centimeter by centimeter, towards the tree bark and grinned wider and wider as he went. Finally, ready to wipe the smirk off his face, I barked out a short laugh and threw his arm down splitting the tree trunk in half.

Jumping up, and looking between me, smirking at him, and Renesmee clapping and squealing he picks up the broken log and flings it across the clearing and into another tree. Growling he tells me, "Next time I won't make it so easy for you" and darts off into the trees. Laughing, I twirl Renesmee around and then fold her into my arms.

Placing her hand on my face she gave me a replay of Emmett's temper-tantrum, concern coloring her thoughts. Removing her hand from my face Edward kisses her fingers.

"Don't worry love, Emmett's just a sore loser is all, his ego will recover from the blow eventually."

**A/N: As you may already know (but just in case you don't) I am not Stephenie Meyer, and therefore do not own the characters, or the Twilight Saga. However, these thoughts are my own. Please R&R. **

** Thanks, Gabbi**


	3. Lessons

**Chapter Two: Lessons **

Hearing heavy paws thud against the Earth, I turned to see Jacob enter the clearing. He must have just come from Billy's. Walking straight up to Renesmee he gently nudged her with his nose. Knowing what this meant I lifted her up so she could climb onto his back.

"Yes, just stay close." Edward answered Jake's (or maybe Renesmee's) unspoken question. They were going hunting. It was almost time for her daily measurement, which is why Edward wanted her to stay close. Renesmee still treated these with a martyred endurance. It was clear that her growth was slowing but still necessary, for Edward, Jacob, and I to see evidence of this through Carlisle's measurements. And despite the clear evidence, it still made me nervous and even a little sad to see our daughter grow so quickly.

At almost a year old Renesmee is about the size of 6 or 7-year-old. Her mind however has surpassed that of an 18-year-old, in some ways, and she is now studying college material and reading some of my classics. Although she never seems to want for anything, except maybe Jacob when he isn't around, I still worry about the many things she misses out on. Going to school and making friends, friends she could relate to. But of course, Renesmee relates better to adults and her growth is still far too accelerated to go to school.

Instead, she receives formal lessons from Edward, Rosalie and even Jacob (on the Quileute language mostly). I teach her things in a more informal way and Alice, of course, guides her in all things fashion. Perhaps most interesting of all though are her lessons with Jasper. He believes that because Renesmee can convey her emotions through her thoughts she might also be able to influence others emotions as well. However, she first must master control of her own emotions and although she is intellectually mature, she is still a child and struggles with her emotions as children (and even adults) often do.

Edward and I were torn at first, we wanted her to be a child in as many ways as she could, for as long as she could, but we also felt that learning to control her emotions (even if she couldn't control others as Jasper could) was a good thing. Edward asked Jasper not to push her, afraid that if she couldn't accomplish this she would be disappointed with herself.

These lessons were always unexpected, well to everyone but Alice (and therefore Edward). If she was feeling particularly strongly about something Jasper would have her push that emotion on to him. It helped that Jasper would calm her if she got too frustrated. When she began to fight his calm, we all realized that, in a way, she was beginning to accomplish just what she set out to do.

When she came back from her hunting trip with Jacob, excited, Jasper began his lesson with her. He did not try to make her calm this time, he enjoyed her excitement. It was amazing, the bond these lessons had brought between them.

Carlisle appeared at the bottom of the stairs, providing Renesmee with an extra element to her lesson. "Can I borrow you for just a moment, Nessie?" he asked.

Keeping the smile on her face, "Sure, Grandpa." It was clear she was trying to maintain her excitement, but she turned away from Jasper at the entrance a little halfheartedly. Ness (mine and Edward's own nickname for her) remembers Nahuel, of course, and is confident that getting to be a grown up faster is very cool. Uncle Emmett often reassures us all with this. Of course, I think Renesmee is the only one that really believes it, although Emmett might also.

I knew that Renesemee would eventually be old enough to go to school, and not too far ahead in the future. I wanted her to have that experience but she would need to go somewhere new, of this everyone but Jacob agreed. We had yet to really make a compromise but I imagine we won't go so far away it is not an easy distance to Charlie and Jacob. And of course, he was welcomed to come with us but he has not made that decision yet.

Edward, Alice and I were discussing the necessity of this as Carlisle took Ness' measurements upstairs, Rosalie and Jacob looking on.

"Well, she'll need to get a new birth certificate, and passport depending on where we'll go. Which Canada is looking like a good possibility. It's hard to tell with Jacob going back and forth on coming with us." Alice announced.

Edward replied, "I think that can wait a bit Alice, Jasper can get those anytime." Now was the time for me to offically take over that position so I said, "Edward, I think Alice has a point. I need to have my name changed 'offically' anyway so I'll meet with J and get those." I continued on, "Renesmee will need to be explained just so and I'm afraid that Jasper may, well, leave something to be desired, in explaining it."

"Alright then, I'll call tomorrow-" Edward started to say. Alice cut him off, "Uh, Edward... I think it would probably be best if Bella went to meet him, herself." Edward must have known what she was talking about, but I didn't.

"Edward shouldn't come?" I couldn't imagine why not, certainly Edward wouldn't scare J the way Jasper did... Would he?

"Well," Alice answered, "J hasn't ever met Edward, or any of us, except you and Jasper of course. I think the less he sees the better. Not to mention, Edward can read J's thoughts... And well... I don't know if that's the best idea if you don't want to go scaring him."

I understood this better. J was certainly aware of my, well, attractive attributes and not knowing that my mind-reading husband can hear those thoughts he probably wouldn't be very likely to try to control them. I shuddered, trying not to imagine just what he thinks. Yes, it was certainly better for me, and Edward, not to know, just exactly what those thoughts were.

Edward, Alice and I were working out all the details when Rosalie and Renesmee came back down the stairs. "It's starting to get dark outside Nessie," Edward said, "I think its time we head home so Rose can go find Uncle Emmett."

Rosalie laughed, "Oh, he'll come back when he's ready. How about Nessie spends the night with me tonight? She can keep me company while Emmett's gone." Renesmee beamed. She loved having sleep-overs. "Can I?" She asked.

"Of course sweetie," I replied, then turned to Rosalie to ask, "You're sure you don't mind Rose?"

"Not at all, you know I love getting to spend time with Ness." And I did know. Not only did Renesmee seem to effortlessly blend our family and the Quiluetes but she had stitched a very strong bond between Rosalie and I too. I knew that the battle we had both fought together for her would forever bond us. And as much as I loved Renesmee I appreciated the time Rosalie was allowing Edward and I, just to ourselves.

I turned from the entryway to hug Nessie and kissed her on the top of her head. Even though I knew it wasn't necessary to say I told her anyway, "Be good for your Aunt Rose."

"I will Momma, I love you." She turned to head up the stairs but Edward caught her before she reached the first step and picked her up into a bear hug. "I love you baby girl" he told her, "Have a good night."

"Night Daddy. Love you too!" Then she was off, up to tell Alice that she was sleeping over no doubt.

"Thank you Rosalie," I said, "and when Emmett comes back tell him I said 'Better luck next time.'" She laughed. Edward added, "And tell him _I_ said no more R rated movies for her. I don't want to see any more nightmares about the vampire hunter." Chuckling Rosalie agreed and we said our good-nights to the rest of the house, knowing they could hear us wherever they were.

Edward and I ran home leisurely, holding hands the whole way. He opened the front door for me and then scooped me up and carried me inside. Kissing my face, he set me down on our bed. I hadn't even noticed that we made it to the bedroom. He sat beside me and I started unbuttoning his shirt. Running my hands down the planes of his chest he let out a moan and undid his last few buttons more quickly than I was. He then began to undress me, starting with my shoes.

Lowering himself on top of me, he moaned again, "You're so beautiful" as we connected. It still amazed me, how much more I could love him in this body. I would never tire of the way it felt to be connected, as one being. It was natural for me now to push my sheild away automatically when he was so close. In this way we were more connected than any two people could ever be. He answered my unspoken thoughts automatically and sometimes even before I realized what I wanted. He moved in perfect synchronization with me and we rocked back and forth this way for what could have been hours, or maybe only a few minutes. I moaned in ecstasy and Edward let himself go at the same time, knowing just a moment before I did that I was at my climax.

We laid there connected, going back and forth between slow movements and perfect stillness until the sun came up.

**A/N: As you may already know (but just in case you don't) I am not Stephenie Meyer, and therefore do not own the characters, or the Twilight Saga. However, these thoughts are my own. Please R&R. **

** Thanks, Gabbi**


	4. Identity

**Chapter 3: Identity**

I called J as soon as I knew his office would be open and asked if I could come meet him there. I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible so I could get back to Renesmee, who still hadn't woken up when I left, she must have had a late night with her aunts.

When I came in, J's secretary lead me straight to his office, asking along the way if I'd like anything to drink. (She wouldn't enjoy my preference very much, I was sure.) J was seated behind his desk but rose as I came in and indicated the chair facing him. He was dressed in an expensive suit with his tie still tucked into his shirt, left over from breakfast I guessed. I took a seat saying, "Hello J, thank you for meeting me on such short notice, I know this isn't your usual modes operandi..." He cut me off before I could finish.

"Please Mrs. Cullen, uh, Bella... I assure you it is a pleasure to be of assistance, tell me, what can I do for you?"

"Well J. First I'll need papers myself this time. Also I'll need to update the passport and birth certificate for my daughter." I still wasn't sure how best to explain Renesmee's situation to Mr. Jenks. In this case the truth very literally could hurt. I was more cautious of this because Charlie and I balanced so precariously on the line between knowing just enough and knowing too much.

J's eyebrows drew together in first a look of concentration, then concern and finally he raised his eyebrows in confusion. I knew I should have brought Edward with me but I wanted to establish my own relationship with J. One that wasn't built on fear or intimidation, which ultimately would have happened if I brought along a protective, and sometimes menacing vampire, or husband. Of course, Alice had seen this, which is the reason why I didn't bring Edward. After a seconds hesitation J answered me.

"Of course, anything you need." I could see his flush building and the sweat start to dew on his forehead so I answered him quickly, before he had to ask any questions.

"There is nothing at all wrong with the others, its just that, well, my daughter is unique in much the same way as Jasper, must be their genetics."

"Ah I see." It was clear that this was not at all true by the look of confusion on his face.

"Well, I'll need a photo of you. And... What needs to be updated for your daughter's birth certificate?" Now we came to the delicate matter.

"Well, to start her name needs to be changed, as well as a different birthdate and the photo will need to be updated as well." I continued in the same breath, "Renesmee, her real name, has grown quite a bit since that last photograph and I just want her information to be as accurate as possible."

"Yes, yes. I see." This time he did seem to have a slightly better grasp of the situation, "Do you have the photographs with you?"

"Yes" I answered, "Everything you need is in here." I drew the envelope out and set it on his desk, my hand still resting on top of it. "I've included all the information in there for us both. There are two photographs for each of us, as well as all the new information. Your payment is in there also." I slid the envelope across the desk and continued, "J, my daughter is... well, as I said, very unique. You may notice that she looks much older than she did in the last picture. Although that picture wasn't really _new_ at the time..." I lied. "She grows a little faster than normal." There, I said it. I mean, I had downplayed it but that was in J's best interest.

Remembering to appear human, I shifted in my seat and crossed my legs. It was easier for me than it had been at first to remember these things but I had to remind myself when I was feeling nervous or under stress. Which, despite my strength, I was at the moment. I was afraid that J would ask too many questions, putting us both in an awkward and possibly dangerous situation.

"I understand. Seems kids really are growing up faster these days. Well... in some ways I guess." I didn't need Edward to tell me he was thinking of Jasper's perpetual youth.

"Well thank you J, I really appreciate all you've done for my family." I said, getting up to leave.

"No Mrs. Cullen, please. It has been my pleasure, and I must say again that it is quite a different experience working with you." I stopped with my hand on the doorknob as J added, "Before you go, ah, when should I have these ready for you?"

"Anytime is fine really, there is no rush for these, just call me when they're finished." I answered. "Good-bye Mr. Jenks."

"Have a good day Mrs. Cullen." J replied. Saying good-bye to J's secretary I stepped out into the drizzle. I drove by Charlie's on the way back but his cruiser wasn't in the driveway so I continued home.

Ness was at the piano with Edward when I came in and they both came to greet me in the entryway. Kissing Nessie's head and wrapping my arm around Edward I took in my surroundings. Alice and Jasper were standing, very tense, at the bottom of the stairs while Rosalie and Emmett looked on from the couch. The TV was on but there was no sound coming from it. Even Esme and Carlisle were standing perfectly still by the counter.

"Bella..." Alice started and before she could finish Edward interrupted, "Bella, my love, Alice has something to tell you but I think we should wait for Jacob to get here so he can hear it too."

"Okay..." I could tell that Alice had seen something serious. I wasn't sure how serious though, serious enough for Jacob to need to know. "Is Jacob on his way over?" I asked.

"Yes, I just got off the phone with Billy. He sent Paul to find him." Carlisle answered me.

Just then Jacob came strolling in the door, "What's up little elf?" He asked Alice. She still had a look of devastation in her face. I was starting to get really worried.

"Well, Jacob, was Charlie hanging out with any of your wolf friends today?" Alice asked. I was confused, what did Charlie have to do with this?

"No..." Jacob hesitated. "Was he supposed to be, all-knowing-one?" He finished. Alice just rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, I can't see him." Alice said, then continued, "I mean, I can't find him. Anywhere."

**A/N: As you may already know (but just in case you don't) I am not Stephenie Meyer, and therefore do not own the characters, or the Twilight Saga. However, these thoughts are my own. Please R&R. **

**Thanks, Gabbi**


	5. Sound the Alarm

**Chapter 4: Sound the Alarm**

"Alice, what do you mean, you 'can't find him'?" I asked. I was starting to get really worried. Only a small part of my mind was listening to Alice. Most of it was running through all the places that Charlie could possibly be. At work of course, or fishing if he had the morning off. Not home, I had already gone by there.

"... and when I went inside I could tell he hadn't been there all night. I didn't smell any unfamiliar scents in his house, vampire or otherwise, so that's a good sign at least." Alice finished, voice a little higher and faster than normal.

"Did anyone go by to see if he was at work?" I asked. Maybe he spent the night with Sue and went straight to work from there.

"Uh, no, not yet anyway. I wanted to make sure he wasn't with any of the pack before I sounded the alarm" Alice answered, looking a bit sheepish.

"Well, I'll go by the station, maybe he's there. No reason to freak out." Yet. And even though I had said it, it was still hard not to let my mind wander through all the horrible things that could possibly happen. I was getting anxious thinking about it before I felt Jasper's calm entrap me. It helped clear my mind and allowed me to focus.

"So, who's coming with me?" I asked.

Jacob climbed into the back seat of the Ferrari, while Edward got into the passenger side. I knew that running would be faster but I didn't think that a wolf and two vampires going in excess of a hundred miles an hour on foot would go down well with the officers of Forks PD. I floored it, going as fast as I could down 101, thinking how convenient it would be to get pulled over, then I could just ask whichever officer it was if they'd seen Charlie. I had to admit it though, cars were more fun for me now that I didn't have to worry about getting smeared on the highway.

It only took a few minutes to make it to the station at the speed I was going, and sure enough there was my dad's cruiser, parked in the parking lot. Relief washed through me, until I caught an unusual scent. It wasn't altogether vampire but it wasn't entirely human. The only thing I had to compare it to was Renesmee, and yet it wasn't Renesmee's scent at all. It immediately made me wary and had it been possible my hands would have been slick with sweat gripping the steering wheel. As it was, I relaxed my grip so that I didn't break my car.

"Whoa..." Jacob said, "you smell that Bells?" The question was obviously rhetorical but it broke my reverie. I shifted around so I could see him from my peripheral. I had backed into a parking space facing the station and Charlie's cruiser. Edward stiffened, whether from the scent or something Jacob thought, I wasn't sure. I pushed my shield away so Edward would know the direction of my thoughts.

"You're right," Edward said, "It isn't human, and it's not vampire either." He put his hand on the door handle, "I'm going to go look around. Why don't you and Jacob go inside and see if you can find out more." With a doubtful look on his face he added, "For all we know, Charlie _might_ be here." He might, I could tell that he had been here recently. His scent lingered, but just barely because there had been the familiar layer of mist hanging in the air all morning. I could smell the unfamiliar scent more strongly but Charlie's was mixed in there. That fact only made me more nervous though.

And so even though I very seriously doubted that I would find Charlie here, I still went inside with Jacob to ask when he had been here last. Hoping that any information would help. The woman at the front desk looked at me, shocked. I knew it was because I looked so different from the last time she'd seen me. At least my eyes were topaz instead of bright red, I was sure that would shock her even more. She told me that my dad had come in early this morning and then left immediately after with someone. She didn't know the person. It looked like a female but she never got out of the car so she couldn't say for sure. She also didn't know what kind of car it was, only that it had looked new and was black, or maybe dark blue.

Jacob left Edward and I to drive home by ourselves, while he phased to let the other wolves know what was up. I tried to remain positive, hoping that maybe one of the other wolves knew something we didn't. The drive home was quiet though, while Edward and I brooded over Charlie. Who could he have left with? For that matter, who would he have left with that wasn't a known member of this community? Surely if it had been someone from town, or any of the surrounding areas, the receptionist would have known them. This is a small enough town that the police here know pretty much everybody.

I didn't recognize the scent and it hadn't been inside the station. I wondered if it could all just be a misunderstanding, that seemed like too much to hope for though. Edward absent-mindedly nodded his head as I thought this.

_ So you don't think this is just a misunderstanding either?_ I asked him silently. I already knew the answer, I just wanted, or hoped, maybe a little naïvely, that he would disagree and say that it probably was. But, I didn't need false reassurances and Edward was too honest to give them to me.

"No, not with that scent. If it weren't for that scent... Maybe. It just seems, too familiar, and yet I know I've never smelled that particular scent before. We will get to the bottom of this though, that I can assure you."

And of that I was sure, too. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

_Earlier that day: _

"Are you Charlie Swan?" The beautiful girl asked.

"Yes, ma'am. Can I help you with something?

"I need you to come with me, it's urgent. Please, it's about your daughter, Bella."

"Bella? What's wrong with Bella?" And who are you?"

"Please, Charlie, there's no time. I'm a friend of the Cullen's. I'll explain everything on the way, just get in, hurry!"

**A/N: As you may already know (but just in case you don't) I am not Stephenie Meyer, and therefore do not own the characters, or the Twilight Saga. However, these thoughts are my own. Please R&R. **

**Thanks, Gabbi**


	6. Singer

**Chapter 5: Singer**

On the way home I drove by my old house, as Alice had said, there were no unfamiliar scents here. I needed to get home to Renesmee, I would focus better with her in my sight. We would come by later, if Charlie didn't turn up. There was an empty void where the idea of my family's safety once was, Charlie's safety. It was as though we had all fallen off the tightrope we were so precariously balanced on. So obvious to me now, as it should have been all along, humans can never remain for very long in the supernatural world. I felt sick, and I knew it was all in my head, but it felt like nausea, like I would pass out, or throw up, any second now. Passing out would actually be a welcome relief.

Pulling into the driveway I was out of my car and across the porch in a heartbeat... One of Renesmee's heartbeats. I slowed down once inside, noticing that besides Alice and Jacob being gone, everyone else was pretty much exactly where we left them. Going straight to Renesmee and trying to be calm for her, I picked her up into a hug. She squeezes my neck and pulling back, cups her hand to my face. It was a loud _Grandpa!?_ and her last memory of him, leaving with Sue and Seth.

Cupping her face in my palm, the same way she was holding mine and looking straight into her eyes, my old eyes, I told her the truth. "I don't know, honey. He wasn't at work." I wanted to offer her more but I wouldn't lie to her. She was too smart for it anyway, she could feel the tension as well as I could.

I heard Esme suck in a shocked breath, and the whisper of fabric as Carlisle wrapped his arms around her. I looked over Nessie's shoulder, at Edward, his beautiful face tortured as he read his daughter's thoughts along with me. She was afraid for Charlie and was considering the worst possible scenario. A scenario I hadn't even let _myself_ imagine.

The Volturi.

What would the Volturi want with Charlie though? He didn't know a thing about vampires, we all made sure of that. Aro knows it as well as we do. And even as I thought this, I was afraid that maybe my father did know too much, more than he was letting on. What if Edward had caught wind of that and Aro knew? Maybe Edward couldn't tell me about it, afraid to let himself consider it at all. I tried not let my mind wander down that path. Besides, that strange scent... If it had been any of the Guard (at least, any that we had met) we would have recognized their scent.

"Nessie, Alice would have seen if the Volturi was planning this." I tried to reassure her, but given my own state of frantic worry, that was difficult to do. Not sure what else to say, we sat in silence for what seemed like a really long time before Jasper finally spoke, "No, Nessie. This isn't the Volturi, it isn't their style." It was hard not to let his words (and his emotional aura) calm me but I didn't want to be calm, I wanted to be out there... Doing something...

"What happened?" Edward asked, his voice quiet but so quick that, without vampire hearing, I wouldn't have heard him.

It was Jasper who answered him, his jaw stretched tight, throwing his scars into relief. "Jacob came by, in a hurry, said he needed Alice, only Alice." Jasper looked uncomfortable, not being by Alice's side, I was sure. "He didn't explain anything, just said it was urgent and they had to hurry."

"Jacob wouldn't do that." Edward answered Jasper's thoughts. "I would have known if he had been planning anything. Alice would have known if her own future suddenly disappeared. Jacob is every bit as invested in this family as you or I. More than that, he is bound to this family in a way we'll never fully comprehend."

Esme turned to Jasper with a pained expression, "Jacob will bring Alice back Jasper, he said as much himself."

Renesmee brought us all back to the major issue, "Grandpa?" She said again, out loud this time. She showed me that she wasn't worried about Jacob or her aunt. She trusted Jacob completely, replaying her memory of him telling her that he would be back soon. To her, it was as good as any promise. She's more concerned about her grandpa. I was too, Jacob and Alice are much more durable than Charlie.

I felt the need to be doing _something..._ I just wasn't sure where to even start. I wanted Alice and Jacob to hurry back. I would feel better when we were all here, together, forming a plan.

As it was, I paced. Back and forth and, back and forth. I couldn't let myself stand still, afraid that if I took my attention away from putting one foot in front of the other, my mind would wander in places I was too afraid to even consider.

Jasper gave up any pretense of remaining calm and went out on the porch to wait for Alice. Esme and Carlisle stood in exactly the same place, holding each other. Emmett got up from the couch and suggested going for a hunt but Esme (fortunately) wanted everyone to stay together to wait until Alice and Jacob returned. I understood exactly how she felt because I felt the same way, I would relax a little when everyone was here.

To get her mind off the worst, Edward offered Renesmee a game of chess. She agreed, I think, only for Edward's amusement, and Emmett was already trying to place a bet. He must need a distraction too.

"I wouldn't be so sure Emmett, you know I'll make sure Ness gets a fair game." I had already expanded my shield to include just Edward and I, so that he couldn't hear what she was thinking. Still, Emmett bet against her, though she was the only one up for the bet.

Everyone looked on as Edward and Ness played, Edward explaining to her why he was making this move instead of that one throughout the game. It looked like Edward was going to win until the last moment. Renesmee effectively took his queen out of the picture, leaving her rook, king and queen still in play, with only Edward's king remaining. "Check-mate!" She shouted, enthusiastic. This is the first time she had actually beaten her dad, when it wasn't obvious he was letting her win.

Turning to Emmett and grinning brightly, "Pay up, Uncle Emmett..." She told him, extending her open hand towards him. Laughing his booming laugh he slapped the hundred-dollar-bill into her open palm. "Looks like I'll have to show your daddy how to play next time-Alice!" Emmett turned expectantly towards the door.

Finally, Alice came home bringing Jacob along with her. I was so relieved I pulled Alice into a tight hug before she even made it through the door.

"Easy Bella, you're still too strong for that you know..." she mumbled into my shoulder. As I inhaled, my throat was engulfed in flames. Jasper snatched Alice out of my arms before I even had time to react to the burn.

"What... Is... That... Smell?" I said, throat scorching so badly it was hard to get the words out. The scent that came off her was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was the most delicious scent I've ever come across, part of me wanted to be out there, looking for it but my more rational side kept me grounded, along with Edward's arm, tight around my shoulders. She must have crossed my "singer," that was the only explanation I could imagine. Hot coals raked down my throat as the venom pooled in my mouth, just thinking about it. I was far enough away that it wasn't as potent as it had been.

For the first time, I began to really understand the torture Edward had put himself through while I was human. I only thought I had understood during our first hunting trip. If this was what having a "singer" was like, well, I would never have been able to control myself as Edward had. As this was all running through my mind, Alice answered my question. "You all might want to sit down for this... It's a bit of a shock."

**A/N: I'm curious... What do you think? Please leave a review and let me know!**

**And again, as you may already know (but just in case) I am not Stephenie Meyer, and therefore do not own the characters, or the Twilight Saga. No copyright infringement intended. However, these thoughts are my own. Please R&R. (Pretty please?)**

**Thanks, Gabbi**


	7. The Changeling

**Chapter 6: The Changeling**

"Fae?" I asked, incredulous. "As in... A fairy?" I knew there was nothing at all wrong with my hearing, but it was hard to wrap my mind around.

"Well, pixie to be exact." Alice answered me. "It's, apparently, a type of fairy." she sighed.

I suppose I shouldn't be this surprised. Vampires, werewolves and shapeshifters. Why not fairies too? This made me wonder what else was out there...

"I still don't understand Alice, why was this... pixie..."

Alice interrupted me, "Raizia... That's her name." Seeing our looks of confusion she repeated herself, more slowly, "Rah-z-ah, Raizia."

"Okay..." I continued, "Why was... Rah-z-ah... Looking for _you?_"

"Well, she said she needed to warn me... Aro is looking for talents of his own, to match ours..." She answered.

"_Aro..._" Jasper quietly growled, as a hiss escaped Rosalie's lips, pulled back over her teeth.

"Guess he's giving up on converting you to the darkside, huh?" Jacob asked her, a little sarcastically.

"So... How does, Raizia, know what Aro is planning?" Esme asked, brow furrowed in confusion. We all wore similar masks of skepticism, except Rosalie. She still had her faced twisted in a furious grimace.

"Can you start from the beginning Alice?" Carlisle asked her. We had all been interrupting with endless questions. "We won't interrupt you." He added, seeing the look of impatience on her face.

"Well, it goes pretty far back... I'll start from the very beginning... Just let me finish before you bombard me with more questions, okay?" She said, raising her brow.

Nodding our heads in unison she began, "It all actually starts before I was born..."

ΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔ

Alice's mother had been found late one night in the orchard by a Healer, Jalen. She had taken a vicious beating from her husband and ran into the orchard to get away from him. Jalen, a pixie, found her there, hurt and devastated at what her husband had done. He used his magic to heal her fresh wounds and he comforted her. She spent the night with him there in the orchard and went back the next morning to an empty home. Her husband had left to go out and make sales, and she was alone. Each night she went back to meet Jalen in the orchard, and they soon fell in love. Jalen couldn't bring her to live with him, though he wished he could, all fairies are forbidden from associating with humans, he would have been banished from his home for such a risk of exposure. Eventually, he impregnated her, not knowing that such a thing was even possible. Alice's father suspected the child wasn't his from the very beginning, but as he used his wife whenever he pleased, there was no proving that. He resented Alice from the moment she was born. She favored her mother, but had nothing in common with him.

His suspicions were confirmed when Alice began to predict the future, and again when her sister Cynthia was born. He knew she must have been a changeling. As time worn on, and with each prediction Alice made, he grew more and more resentful, of both Alice, and her mother. He confided his worries to a barmaid one night, taking pity on him she brought him home with her, and so began their affair.

Alice's mother never spoke a word of her lover to anyone, and she never even hinted to Alice the truth about her parentage. She was afraid for her daughter and her lover. She had long since quit meeting him in the orchard, for fear of Mr. Brandon finding out. But he would check on her periodically, and so he watched his only child grow up from afar. He dreamed of one day taking her away with him, after witnessing the injustice that was dealt her by her mother's husband. He refused to think of him as her father, he was her father, and one day she would know it. He was going make sure of that.

When Mr. Brandon started forming a plan, with his mistress, to rid himself of his wife and her illegitimate child, Jalen found his lover and begged her to run away with him. He wanted her and Alice to come live with him, never mind the consequence of being banished, he would start over anew. Kay, Alice's mother, wouldn't leave, though she very much wanted too. She couldn't leave Cynthia, who _was_ Mr. Brandon's child.

Jalen warned Kay of what Mr. Brandon was planning but she didn't believe him at first. She thought he was only telling her that to get her to leave with him, until Alice warned her of the very same thing. She waited for Jalen to come back so she could apologize for not believing him, and so they could finally start their new life together, but he didn't come back.

Finally, she left one night in the buggy to seek him out, leaving Alice at home with her little sister. She was run off the road. Though she didn't know it, both Alice and Jalen were trying to reach her in time, but neither made it. Alice eventually went to confide in her aunt and uncle. Jalen, however, in his grief, stayed under the bridge near where Kay had been killed, consumed with misery. Finally, anger motivated him to move, he had to save Alice, as he had seen Mr. Brandon was coming for her next.

He was too late though. The town marshal already had Alice locked away in an asylum. Jalen knew that a vampire was hunting Alice, but he couldn't get into the asylum to save her. There was another vampire working there as a groundskeeper. Pixie blood is especially desirable to vampires and Jalen had to stay far enough away so that his scent wouldn't be picked up by the tracker, as Alice's had been. Jalen had a vision of Alice being bitten by the vampire that worked at the asylum, and not knowing he was trying to save her, he thought her dead. Many years later, he came back to Biloxi, after having a vision of Alice getting married. He looked for her, and eventually found her, far from Biloxi, but he was afraid, as she was vampire. She didn't look like other vampires, with their red eyes, but he had never before seen a pixie turned into a vampire. He knew it was only possible because she wasn't a full-blooded pixie. Otherwise, the venom would've killed her, as he originally assumed it had.

The Volturi became aware of a pixie that was able to foresee the future (not aware that all pixies have this ability) during their search for Joham in South America. It was Jalen's brother, Sindri who the Volturi were after and he saw Alice in Aro's future. Sindri was one of the few who knew of Jalen's romance with a human and so he warned Jalen that Alice was in danger. Jalen, afraid despite his brothers reassurances that Alice and her family were good, was afraid to go and warn his long-lost daughter.

Raizia, however, Sindri's daughter (and Jalen's niece) took it upon herself to find Alice. Raizia is known as somewhat of a daredevil among the other pixies. Really, she is just intrigued by other mythical creatures and has always begged her elders to allow her to study them. She saw Jalen's refusal to heed Sindri's advice as the perfect opportunity to meet her cousin, whom she had always secretly longed to meet. Alice being a vampire did not frighten her in the least, much like Alice, she was always excited to make a friend, especially such a rare friend. She also thought it would be good to have some vampires on their side.

So, secretly she left home, telling only her father, Sindri, where she was going. He was afraid for her, but also hopeful that this would help heal the still-open wound in his brother's soul and allow him to begin to forgive himself. Finding a shapeshifter running through the forest was an exciting surprise to her. He knew of Alice, and it was with his help that she found her cousin.

ΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔ

"Wow." That was all I could say. That seemed to be all anyone could say. We all sat staring at Alice as she finished. Jasper held her to him throughout her explanation. I know Alice was happy to have some answers to the mystery that was her human life but all this new information just brought about more questions, different questions. Perhaps most important, and least relevant, to Alice's past, was Charlie. Where did he fit into this equation?

"What about Charlie?" I asked, breaking the silence. Everyone was dumbfounded, they slowly turned their faces towards me but their eyes were still far, far away.

"Charlie..." I repeated, getting their attention this time. Alice looked at me, pain dominating her face. "Alice..." I said in response to the tortured expression on her face. "What is it?"

"Bella... the Volturi... they're after him. Raizia explained that they had to find and protect Charlie, for all our sakes." Alice answered me, hesitantly.

"What do you mean 'for all our sakes'?" Edward asked her.

Alice answered him, brow furrowed like his, "I explained that the Volturi was seeking talent to match our own and... well... Aro saw that Charlie was... Similar to Bella." A growl erupted from my lips as a sob came from Renesmee. Not my dad. Not my dad. No.

"So, wait a minute Alice, are you saying that the pixies have Charlie?" Carlisle asked. I sat perfectly still though mentally I was reeling.

"No..." Alice answered him, "They're looking for him."

So, then someone did get to Charlie before the pixies and suddenly it hit me. "Oh." I realized, that scent was not at all pixie... It was a hybrid vampire.

**A/N: I am sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. As some of you know already, school is back in session and so that has of course taken top priority but I will not abandon this story! I was a bit skeptical of posting this chapter because this is really the turning point in the story and I am not quite sure how it's being received. So, if you have a moment, I would really appreciate being left a review to let me know what you think so far, love it, hate it, or otherwise. **

**Also, I do not own the characters or The Twilight Saga. No copyright infringement intended.**


End file.
